Nairobi, April 5 -- Conditional approvals for the merger of four flower firms helped protect 14,000 jobs in the year to June last year, the competition watchdog has revealed, handing relief to thousands of households drawing their livelihood directly or indirectly from the agricultural businesses.

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) said it invoked public interest in approval terms to safeguard jobs that may have been lost in the year to June 2023 amid a rise in merger transactions.

"Notably, there was an increased merger activity in the flower industry with capital injections in four flower farms securing over 14,000 jobs for workers in the sector," CAK said in its annual report.

The merger transactions recorded last year include...